Another Presbyterian has announced she will stand for moderator of the 2018 General Assembly – Chantal D. Atnip, a ruling elder who since 2005 has served as treasurer of the Synod of the Trinity.
Atnip, who lives in Hershey, Pennsylvania, said via email that the Presbytery of Carlisle endorsed her as a candidate for moderator at its Dec. 5 meeting. She said she is announcing on her own, but is seeking the right person to stand with her, either as a co-moderator candidate or as a vice moderator.
Born in France, where her father was stationed in the Air Force, Atnip became a member of First Presbyterian Church in Vero Beach, Florida, when she was 12.
She majored in mathematics and math education at Florida State University, and has had a varied career, moving in and out of the workplace as her family’s needs changed. She has worked as a computer programmer and analyst; as a systems engineer for IBM; started a computer consulting and software development company with a colleague; … [Read more...]

Here we go: The first team to stand for co-moderators of the 2018 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has emerged.
Eliana Maxim, associate executive presbyter of Seattle Presbytery and a vice moderator of the Way Forward Commission, announced on Facebook and Twitter Dec. 3 that she will stand for co-moderator along with Bertram Johnson, who is minister of justice, advocacy and change at Riverside Church in New York.
Both are PC(USA) ministers and people of color. Maxim has served as vice moderator of the PC(USA)'s National Hispanic/Latino Presbyterian Caucus.
Maxim said Seattle Presbytery has endorsed her to stand for co-moderator. She said Johnson is a member of the Presbytery of New York City, which will consider his request for endorsement when it meets in January.
Johnson, who is 47, earned a master of divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary and was ordained in 2014; Maxim earned the same degree from Seattle University and was ordained … [Read more...]

Editor’s note: As Presbyterians debate holding the 223rd GA in St. Louis next summer (see Leslie Scanlon’s article the the COGA decision for more), Tom Hay gives some historical context on the assembly’s relationship to the city.
Since 1851, a Presbyterian General Assembly has been held in St. Louis 15 times. That’s if you count the strangely wonderful assemblies of 1866 twice.
The twist of twin assemblies revealed itself while doing background research for the upcoming 223rd General Assembly (2018) in St. Louis. By carefully following the interlocking branches of our antecedent Presbyterian tree, I recorded every time an assembly gathered in St. Louis: UPCNA, 2 times; PCUS, 3 times; etc.
Then the year 1866 appeared in two separate threads. Once for the assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. Old School and again for the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. New School. That triggered a trip to the worn shelves of the reference library of the Office of the General … [Read more...]

ST. LOUIS – What to expect from the 2018 General Assembly, which will meet in St. Louis from June 16-23?
Most likely, overtures or proposals on fossil fuel divestment and climate change, immigration, possibly gun violence and the way forward for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), said Tom Hay, director of assembly operations for the Office of the General Assembly.
Each day, there will be opportunities – still taking shape – for public witness and education on issues involving race and justice. Having the assembly in a city that has been holding near-daily protests over police shootings and economic and racial injustice “becomes an opportunity for engagement around issues of race and white privilege,” said Craig Howard, transitional presbytery leader for the Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy.
That presbytery sent an open letter in September, stating in part: “We believe that God has opened up a unique opportunity for the 223rd General Assembly to be bold and faithful in speaking … [Read more...]

LOUISVILLE – Yes, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) will hold its General Assembly in St. Louis from June 16-23, 2018. The Committee on the Office of the General Assembly voted Sept. 21 to reaffirm that and to say “we believe God has led us to this place at this time.”
The committee also voted to encourage Presbyterians to go to St. Louis before, during and after the General Assembly to engage in service and justice work.
Some have raised questions recently about whether the PC(USA) should pull the assembly out of St. Louis both as a form of economic protest and to protect the safety of people of color who’ll be attending.
Police have arrested more than 120 people during protests in downtown St. Louis following the acquittal on Sept. 15 of Jason Stockley, a white former police officer who had been charged with murder after shooting a black driver, Lamar Smith, five times in 2011. Racial justice in St. Louis has been an issue long before that – with the police killing of … [Read more...]